Moshi, TZ – Family working hard and saving for a new home – 9 July 2015

Twenty years ago Mr. JJM moved from the Pare Mountains to Kahe Ward with his wife. He is a farmer and she was a nurse before they got married. When they arrived in Kahe they met Mr. Goodluck who rented them a house in Oria Village, where they live today.

Since moving to Oria Village they have had four children: Ezikieli (age 20), Amina (age 19), Easter (age 16) and Mercy (age 13). Ezikieli enjoys keeping livestock and Amina likes running her own business. The youngest children are both interested in following their mother’s footsteps and becoming nurses.

The family started an organic vegetable garden with Tupendane in February, 2014. Since then the family has had a productive garden, despite some challenges which temporarily reduced harvests. One reason the family’s garden has stayed productive is that they have been very careful to listen to the mentoring advice of Tupendane team members.

The family’s favorite benefit from the garden is the daily supply of vegetables they enjoy. They have also improved their income by selling excess vegetables and saving money because they don’t have to buy vegetables at the market anymore.

Mr. JJM estimates his family earns about 9,000 TZS (US $4.50) per month selling vegetables and saves an additional 14,000 TZS (US $7.00). From this improvement the family raised 70,000 TZS (US $35) to start a business cooking and selling rice buns – known locally as vitambua.

Mrs. JJM cooks and her daughter Amina helps sell the tasty treats to businesses, local markets, and homes. Since September the family has earned an additional 18,000 TZS (US $9.00) per week from the business. They have used this additional income to expand their chicken business from 13 chickens to 20.

One challenge the family is facing is health challenges caused by the poor quality of local stoves. These stoves expose cooks to high levels of smoke and heat.

The family’s current goal is to continue improving their livestock by purchasing more chickens and expanding into cows. Eventually they hope to make enough money to own their own home. They have already purchased a piece of land and look forward to building a home so they no longer have to pay rent.